If this were the NFL, Vincenzo D'Amato probably would be on the street, looking for work after missing three field-goal tries in a game his team lost by seven points.

This is college, however, and D'Amato remains on scholarship as Cal's kicker. Famously loyal to his quarterbacks, head coach Jeff Tedford also decided to stick with D'Amato even though all three of his field-goal attempts at Ohio State sailed wide left.

"Vince is our kicker. He bounced back," Tedford said.

Not before missing another field-goal try at USC, his first, when his toe hit the grass on a 35-yarder that was, for a change, wide right. That was his fourth straight miss.

D'Amato corrected a flaw in his technique and made field goals of 24, 26 and 35 yards in Cal's 27-9 loss. D'Amato said his head and body were too far forward on the kicks he missed.

"You want to give your leg a chance to swing through it," he said. "My body was faster than my leg. I went back after the Ohio State game and I noticed there were errors. I was confident I could fix them."

The Pac-12 has not been a conference of great kickers this season. No one is perfect on field goals through four games and only three kickers have accuracy figures of 70 percent or better.

Despite his errant kicks, D'Amato is second in the Pac-12 in field goals made with seven, in 12 tries. He said he is grateful to Tedford for sticking with him when others were ready to show him the door.

"His support meant a lot to me," said D'Amato, a junior from Lake Forest (Los Angeles County). "Mentally, it put me at ease. It feels good. It was exciting to know I could do it. I feel confident. After the three makes this week, I'm confident my technique is back where it needs to be."

Standing pat at QB: Though Zach Maynard missed some open receivers against USC, including when the Bears were in scoring position, Tedford is not ready to give him the hook.

"As of right now, no," the coach said. "I thought Zach played great at Ohio State. ... Zach's doing a fine job. He's not perfect by any means. He played under pretty heavy duress the last couple of weeks."

For the season, Maynard has completed 63.4 percent of his passes (78-for-123) for 927 yards, with an equal number of touchdowns and interceptions, four. He's eighth in the Pac-12 in passing efficiency.

Bigelow quandary: To those wondering why Brendan Bigelowdid not get more than four carries against USC, it turns out the sophomore speedster had a couple of assignment errors when he was in the game that precluded further playing time.

"It's a work in progress with Bigelow still," Tedford said. "You want to make sure he has an effect on the game."

Poignant sight: Injured tight end Spencer Hagan was accompanied by his parents, Scott and Karen Hagan, as they walked through the north tunnel of Memorial Stadium to watch practice Tuesday. Hagan, on crutches, tore three ligaments in his right knee in the Ohio State game.